Pundit ClaimsAI claims by Gary Marcus and Ed Zitron, with the evidence

“Possible future: Literally every bad thing that comes out of generative AI-and there will may well be a lot—people will wonder: “maybe this wouldn’t have happened had Macron and Scholz not blocked the planet’s best effort at keeping the tech companies in check.””

Crisis point in AI?, paragraph 3. The full statement is at the source.

Our reading, the sentence that was checked:

In a possible future, for literally every bad thing that comes out of generative AI (and there may well be a lot), people will wonder whether it might not have happened had Macron and Scholz not blocked the EU AI Act, which he calls the planet's best effort at keeping the tech companies in check.

Assessment: Can’t be checked Not checked against evidence

Where and when Gary Marcus wrote it

Marcus on AI, Crisis point in AI?, paragraph 3.

Said
Source observed
live page, full text, public
Evidence
Not checkedboth screens found it cannot be checked
Assessment recorded
assessment marcus-crisis-point-in-ai-ef6360-a1

We recorded 3 claims from this post. See every claim from this post.

The wording above is the version this site observed on 2026-10-29. The source may have been edited after 2023-11-10. This page does not claim the wording was captured then.

What the claim commits to

Kind
Forecast
Deadline, as the speaker wrote it
None stated. This site does not add one.
Deadline state when assessed
No horizon
Deadline state on 2026-10-29
No horizon (the release’s reference date)

Conditions

  • framed as a possible future (qualifier, stated by the speaker)
  • literally every bad thing that comes out of generative AI (scope, stated by the speaker)
  • there may well be a lot of bad things (qualifier, stated by the speaker)

From the speaker

  • framed as a possible future
  • literally every bad thing that comes out of generative AI
  • there may well be a lot of bad things

Our interpretation

None added.

This claim is not graded on evidence. The record checks that the words are quoted correctly and attributed to the right person, and that the claim is classified correctly.

Current assessment

Not graded on evidence

Outcome: Can’t be checked

Both AI providers screened this claim on their own and found that public evidence could not settle it. It is recorded and attributed, not scored.

Why it can’t be checked

Both screens gave the same reason:

  • Stated as a chance or a possibility, or at medium or low confidence.
Evidence
Not checked
Deadline state when assessed
No horizon
Assessment recorded
Policy version
2026-10-28.7

Rationale

Not checked against evidence. Two independent screens, one from each provider, both found this stated as a chance or a possibility, or at medium or low confidence.

Limitations

None recorded.

Evidence (0 items)

No evidence was searched for. Both screens found that public evidence could not settle this claim.

Where it was said (1)

Said once in the sources this register covers.

  • : Marcus on AI, Crisis point in AI?

    Possible future: Literally every bad thing that comes out of generative AI-and there will may well be a lot—people will wonder: “maybe this wouldn’t have happened had Macron and Scholz not blocked the planet’s best effort at keeping the tech companies in check.”

    Published
    2023-11-10
    Source observed
    , live page
    Access
    full text, public

History

Assessment versions

Recorded events

  1. Assessment publishedBy this site

    First assessment published after both reviews and the final-text check passed.

    About assessment marcus-crisis-point-in-ai-ef6360-a1.